Valentine's Day is sneaking up on us. Chocolates are always a winner in my book but why not take it up a notch and do a quick and easy dessert for your special someone.
This No-Bake S'More Cheesecake is not only super easy, but it's light, airy and packed with graham cracker and chocolaty goodness.
The nice people at Nebraska Furniture Mart sent me delicious See's Candies to use in my baking fun. Plus, I have good news for those of you in need of a new place to store said No-Bake S'More Cheesecake.
From February 3, 2016 thru the 16, 2016 Nebraska Furniture Mart is offering a free box of See’s Chocolates with any Frigidaire Gallery purchase. During that time-frame they will be offering 36-month financing (for Frigidaire Gallery only) and all Frigidaire Gallery products will be on sale.
My sister-in-law came to town a few weeks ago along with my mother and father-in-law. The trip was for a couple reasons; it was my sister-in-laws birthday weekend and they had Neil Diamond tickets.
Celebrating birthdays is the best. I asked Jill for her birthday cake request. She said she loved Chocolate Raspberry. The first thing that came to mind was raspberry cheesecake. You can never go wrong with cheesecake.
I love baking for other people. These amazing Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake Bars were for one of my sweetest friends, Alison, for her birthday.
Alison just started selling Chloe + Isabel jewelry so we also gave her jewelry display stands and the talented Simply Paperie (Laura) designed custom note cards. I'm obsessed with this necklace and will make it mine.
I know, it's kind of a long title, but I couldn't really shorten it. I had leftover waffle cone bowls from my first batch of ice cream and I figured it couldn't hurt anyone to fill them with cheesecake. After I did that, it just didn't look 'finished' so I topped it with ganache.
Done.
This is the creamiest and richest no bake cheesecake. The cheesecake bowl is the perfect size to share with your hubby or another loved one. If waffle cones aren't your thing (you're weird, but that's okay) you could put the filling in a graham cracker crust instead.
No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache and Waffle Cone Crust
Cheesecake
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
Ganache
1/2 cup whipping cream
5 or 6 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
Crust
Waffle Cone Bowls or a 9 inch regular or chocolate graham cracker crust*
In a mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, gradually increasing speed. Once it is stiff and forming soft peaks, blend in powdered sugar, a half cup at a time. Add the peanut butter and combine. Add the cream cheese and mix until all combined. Scoop the batter into the waffle cone bowls or crust, smooth, and place in refrigerator while you make the gananche.
Place chopped chocolate in a heat-proof dish and set aside. Place whipping cream in a small sauce pan. Whisk constantly until it starts to boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Stir until smooth. Allow ganache to set for 5 minutes to cool a bit.
Remove pie(s) from the refrigerator and top with ganache. Put back in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm up before serving.
*I recommend serving the same day if using the waffle cone bowls; the crust does soften after a few days. It's still good, but doesn't have that crunch.
Jacob turned 30 over the weekend. I asked what he wanted me to make him. He said the New York Cheesecake I made a few months ago was really good. I said no, mainly because I wanted something I could blog. #foodbloggerproblems So I figured I could still make cheesecake, just a different kind.
Plus, who wouldn't like chocolate cheesecake with a whole package of OREO's?!?!
I did honor his request for my homemade Chicken and Waffles for his birthday dinner. It really was delicious, I'm just not a fan of frying food at home; that fried food smell just lingers. Gross. But it was a delicious meal!! And a small slice of these cheesecake just completed the night.
Chocolate OREO Cheesecake 32 OREO Chocolate Creme Cookies, divided
32 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pkg. (8 squares) Bakers' Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted, cooled
4 eggs
Whipped Cream and more OREO's for serving
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cover base of a 9 inch spring-form pan with foil or spray with cooking spray.
Place 10 whole OREO's into a food processor and finely crush. Press crumbs into the bottom the spring-form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Melt chocolate in the microwave until smooth (45 second bursts, stirring between each burst), set aside to cool.
Quarter or slightly crush remaining 20 OREO's - chunks are good!
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract with mixer until well blended and smooth, couple minutes. While continuing to mix, add chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. You may need to scrape down the bowl to fully incorporate.
Pour 1 1/2 cups of the OREO chunks into the cream cheese mixture. Pour mixture over crust. Sprinkle with remaining cookies pieces.
Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until center is almost set, but still a little jiggly. Allow cheesecake to cool on the counter for an hour or so then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
To serve, top with whipped cream and additional OREO's.
Today Magical Monday. You wanna know why? Because I have the day off. I put in a request for a mental health day. It's not like I'm stressed or anything, I just kind of wanted a day to just relax and do my own thing. Jacob is working and I 'conveniently' made an appointment for Henry to get a bath and a hair cut. So I'm HOME ALONE!!!
I have lots of plans today, but I'm going to be honest with myself that probably only 20% of the things I want/should do will get done and I'm okay with that. On that list is....
Laundry (in progress)
Blog this cheesecake (done!)
Start prepping the bathroom with primer (more on that later this week)
Fall asleep on the couch while watching Young & The Restless on my DVR
Bake something else
Make Jacob dinner
Mop the floors (we both know this probably won't make the cut)
Dust (ha! this either)
Clean up my office (I'll probably rearrange piles)
Cheesecake. I'm making this for a co-worker's dinner party in a couple weeks so I wanted to do a test run so I don't ruin her party. My aunt is known for her yummy recipes so I knew that wouldn't be an issue. I just really wanted to make sure my technique was okay and the final product looked presentable. Well, it passed the test and is Jacob approved.
I plan on freezing the majority of this pie for a future family visit, but I'll take a couple slices to work for a little test taste.
I know sometimes cheesecake can be a scary thing to make with the crazy spring-form pan, but this is an easy one. And if it happens to crack a little bit, the topping will make it look flawless. So, go on, make it!
New York Style Cheesecake
source: my Aunt Vicki
Crust:
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 TBSP sugar
7 TBSP butter, melted
Topping:
8 ounces sour cream
3 TBSP sugar
Garnish with fresh berries, if desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in small bowl. Pour into 9 inch spring-form pan. Press up sides of pan and along the bottom to form crust. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
Adjust oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Beat cream cheese and sugar until nice and fluffy (couple minutes). Add lemon zest and vanilla extract. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix all until smooth, scrapping the bowl from time to time.
Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until center is somewhat firm and not overly jiggly.
Remove from oven and spread mixture of sour cream and sugar on top of cheesecake. Lightly spread with a spatula to evenly over. Turn OFF oven, place cheesecake back in oven for 5 minutes.
Cool on counter for 30-40 minutes and then chill overnight before serving.
As you probably have noticed from previous posts, my office enjoys a good pot-luck or just treats in general. Last week was no different, we had our pot-luck on Monday and then Wednesday we had another lunch. We celebrated the one year mark of Helen's, my co-worker, DOUBLE knee replacement. Helen's hubby brought in lasagna fresh out of the oven and we had salad and fresh bread. I volunteered to do dessert and Helen requested Pumpkin Cheesecake. She has good taste! The only other cheesecake I've made was my chocolate cheesecake cake so I was ready to try it again.
This Pumpkin Cheesecake did not disappoint! It was just like a creamy pumpkin pie with the perfect pumpkin spices. And the cake was nice and thick giving sky high slices. I really think I'll make this for Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. So good!
I opted for the traditional graham cracker crust, but for more spice you could use ginger snaps like Brown Eyed baker suggests.
Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 TBSP light brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
½ cup butter (1 stick), melted
Cheesecake
32 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 cups (a 15-oz can) canned pumpkin
4 eggs, at room temperature
2½ TBSP heavy cream
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Double wrap the bottom and
outside of a 9-inch spring-form pan with heavy duty foil (will prevent water from getting into pan). Mix together the
crust ingredients and press into the bottom and sides of the spring-form pan. Bake for 6
to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for a water bath. (The water
bath will help prevent cracking on the top of the cheesecake.)
Mix together cream cheese and the sugars on medium speed
until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and mix on low until
completely incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well combines and
scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time. Add the heavy cream and
vanilla and beat again, for about 1 minute. Add the cinnamon, ginger, salt,
nutmeg, cloves and allspice and mix on low until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared and cooled crust. Tap the
pan on the counter to release any air bubbles. Place the spring-form pan in a
large roster pan. Pour the boiling water
into the roster pan until it is about ½ way up the spring-form pan.
Bake for 55 to 70 minutes, or until the edges are set, but the
middle still jiggles a little. Keep the cheesecake in the oven after baking,
door closed, turn off the oven and let the cheesecake rest in the oven for 1
hour. After the hour, remove the
cheesecake from the oven, carefully remove it from the water bath, remove the
foil and place the cheesecake on a wire rack to cool completely (2 hours should
do the trick). Once completely cool, refrigerate for at least 6 hours
(preferably overnight).
